Chapter 147: Chapter 107: When Paths Cross, the Strong Prevail

Xuanyi casually blocked the excuse Fang Yu hadn’t even spoken yet with a single sentence.

This left Fang Yu opening his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.

In his heart, he was already silently lamenting his misfortune, reciting Liou Zhen’s name no less than ten times.

"Liou Zhen, my dear junior brother, you’ve really landed your senior brother in trouble."

Though he felt this way, Fang Yu had no intention of betraying Liou Zhen.

With determination, keeping an outward calm, he braced himself and said in a deep voice, "All the faults lie with me, the disciple. I have no words to defend. Whatever punishment the sect deems fit, I will accept it."

After saying this, he pressed his lips together and remained silent.

After all, it was just a mistake in recording Liou Yuan’s qualification information; nothing severe enough to truly trouble him, a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator.

He, Fang Yu, would rather take the punishment alone than both of them suffer.

Besides, it wasn’t the consequence of the matter that he feared, but simply Xuanyi himself.

The atmosphere grew silent.

Xuanyi stared at Fang Yu for a while, then suddenly smiled warmly, "Still quite stubborn, aren’t you?"

"No need to say more. Go to the Disciplinary Hall to receive your punishment."

"Yes!" Fang Yu didn’t even dare to raise his eyes in front of Xuanyi.

In fact, upon hearing that he should go for punishment, he felt a sense of relief and respectfully withdrew from the Wenda Tower.

This left Sect Leader Xuanyi alone in the Wenda Tower, quietly gazing at the crane before him.

He smiled as if speaking to the crane, "Did you understand?"

As Xuanyi’s words fell, something strange happened.

The crane, which Xuanyi had sketched out with ink, slowly stood up from the desk, under Xuanyi’s gaze.

It seemed to step out of the painting, with its feathers becoming lifelike.

The crane’s eyes were blood-red, as if embedded with a blood-colored Spirit Stone, meeting Xuanyi’s gaze, and it spoke with a cocky, masculine voice.

"It’s nothing but those trivial matters of the Liou Family."

"Fang Yu and Liou Zhen are on good terms. Liou Zhen’s brother is of remarkable talent, and to avoid the Liou Family’s reaction, Liou Zhen tampered with the entrance examination."

"In the end, it’s still the misdeeds your master Xuanyi allowed in those days."

"If he hadn’t tacitly agreed to the Liou Family’s Fog Vein seizing the patriarch position back then, these petty matters wouldn’t exist now."

"The master did nothing wrong," Xuanyi said as he picked up a writing brush once again, calmly articulating as he started to paint on the desk. "For Five Extremes Mountain to stand tall and unshaken for thousands of years at the border of these two territories, it relies on keeping the best and discarding the worst, the law of the jungle."

"For those who seek immortality, the path is long and arduous. If faced with this minor setback they fall into dejection, hope for immortality is nothing but an illusion."

"Look across Jiuli State and the Jin Dynasty, with countless sects everywhere. When it comes to whose disciples have the strongest spirit for combat, whose path is most steadfast, who doesn’t say none but Five Extremes Mountain!"

"Such is the case with the disciples, and the families under them are the same."

At this point, Xuanyi seemed to think of something amusing and said with a smile, "Didn’t I, the humble Taoist, preserve Liou Zhen, this genius? Gave him a chance to turn the tables."

"Now there’s another Liou Yuan—a pleasant surprise indeed."

"A single lineage with two outstanding talents, it seems the struggle between the main and collateral branches of the Liou Family continues."

"What a distasteful amusement," the crane remarked without any fear of Xuanyi, shaking its head with a mocking tone, "Being Sect Leader must have stifled you, getting your kicks from watching the commotion every day with joy."

"Our Five Extremes Mountain does not support idlers. We want wolves that can be swords and hold a persistent desire to fight and bite." Xuanyi’s brush continued to move, his voice calmly indifferent.

"The sword that is Liou Zhen has been sharpened enough under my guidance, my efforts were not in vain."

"Now we shall see if his brother Liou Yuan can become another sharp blade for Five Extremes Mountain."

The crane tilted its head, watching the movement of Xuanyi’s brush, and casually asked, "What about Liou Tao?"

"When rivals meet, the stronger one is respected." Xuanyi stated it like a trivial matter.

"The victor becomes the blade, the loser becomes the stepping stone."

At this point, Xuanyi and the crane’s eyes met in a jesting manner, "The Outer Sect training period is approaching, I think last year’s new disciples can be added in."

"None at Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer would get away."

The crane knew Xuanyi’s disposition too well. As soon as Xuanyi spoke, it understood what he was thinking, disdainfully saying, "You love watching the drama unfold, don’t you?"

"Insisting on seeing the Liou Family’s main and collateral branches settle a life-and-death grudge."

"Let me tell you, whether it’s Liou Yuan or Liou Tao who dies, the feud between Xiangshan the Liou Clan and Liou Zhen will inevitably erupt without restraint."

"By then, fighting will break out, making Five Extremes Mountain restless, giving you a headache."

The more the crane spoke, the more Xuanyi found it amusing, speaking cold words in a mild and gentle tone, "Just what I am hoping for."

"Whether it’s me or those three Supreme Elders of Five Extremes Mountain, who among us didn’t crawl out of the direst situations? The strong should rise valiantly in the battlefront."

"I have said, Liou Zhen’s achievements today are inseparable from my nurturing."

"After Foundation Establishment, Liou Zhen’s cultivation improved rapidly, he surely has some opportunity, achieving Golden Core isn’t out of the question. Aren’t you afraid he might one day prove his Dao at Golden Core and challenge you, this Hundred Ghosts Asura?"

The crane was blunt with its words.

"Not afraid of his hatred, if he truly has the ability, he could have this Sect Leader’s position."

"I have no interest in this troublesome position!"

Xuanyi’s voice gently echoed throughout the Wenda Tower.

...

On the Fifth Peak, there are many caves.

Depending on the different locations where the caves are scattered, the concentration of star energy varies.

The concentration of star energy determines the annual rent price for each cave.

Liou Yuan had been busy with this matter these past few days, running all over the mountains with the disciple from Zhe’an Tower in charge of cave management and registration on the Fifth Peak.

He inspected over a dozen cave residences.

Because this matter was of great importance, even a slightly inferior cave residence cost twenty to thirty merit points per year as rent.

Those slightly more expensive went for forty to fifty merit points.

Once decided upon, there’s no room for reconsideration, so Liou Yuan hesitated to make a decision.

His plan was to wait until his elder brother emerged to ask him, as Liou Zhen was better informed and connected, sure to know which cave residence was the most cost-effective.

Thus, he delayed his decision.

While Liou Yuan busied himself choosing a cave residence, he stayed at Xiaopei Mountain. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

On the mountain were several abandoned straw huts built by predecessors, and last time Liou Tao and his group didn’t dismantle all of them, providing some convenience for Liou Yuan.

During this period, Qiu Ming also broke through to the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer, barely succeeding on the very last day of the one-year deadline.

On the day of his breakthrough, his excited whoops and hollers could be heard across Xiaopei Mountain and even nearby mountain ranges.

Like Liou Yuan, Qiu Ming’s strength surged after reaching Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer.

His Body Cultivation Realm was elevated, with his blood aura exposed.

Including Qiu Ming, five disciples among last year’s new entrants had already reached Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer.

They were Zhao Feiyue, Liou Tao, Bi Wan, Liou Yuan, and Qiu Ming.

The breakthroughs of new disciples could not be hidden, as the upper echelons of Five Extremes Mountain had the means to discern their cultivation.

This facilitated the issuance of breakthrough rewards.

Therefore, without Fang Yu mentioning it, the disciples responsible for recording cultivation stats on Fifth Peak quickly noticed Liou Yuan’s peculiar situation.

Because the records Fang Yu initially registered showed clearly that Liou Yuan possessed only a Three-Star Water Acupoint.

His breakthrough to Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer could be attributed to luck or external aid.

When he reached Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer, things already seemed off.

What sense was there in a Three-Star Star Acupoint disciple cultivating faster than a Four-Star Star Acupoint disciple?

Now his cultivation had directly leapt to Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer, on par with Five-Star Star Acupoint disciples.

This was clearly not a Three-Star Star Acupoint situation; even the blind could see the trickery involved.

This was definitely the speed only a Five-Star Star Acupoint could achieve.

Thus, on the second day after the one-year deadline, rumors swiftly spread of Liou Yuan at Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer, suspected of possessing a Five-Star Star Acupoint.

It spread throughout the Outer Sect of Five Extremes Mountain.

What does a Five-Star Star Acupoint signify? It represents limitless potential, the ability to cultivate to the peak of Qi Cultivation Realm at optimal speed, reaching the threshold of Foundation Establishment faster than other cultivators.

In fact, every disciple with a Five-Star Star Acupoint is a potential Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator.

Of course, breaking through to Foundation Establishment is perilous and unpredictable.

Reaching the threshold of Foundation Establishment first doesn’t guarantee successful breakthrough.

However, the probability of Five-Star Star Acupoint disciples successfully achieving Foundation Establishment is two to three times that of other cultivators, highlighting the importance of talent.

This is why Five Extremes Mountain pays substantial attention to Five-Star Star Acupoint disciples.

After last year’s disciples entered the sect, the Outer Sect of Five Extremes Mountain singled out each Five-Star Star Acupoint disciple individually.

The names of seven disciples were etched into the memory of every Outer Sect disciple.

Seven Five-Star Star Acupoint disciples were the most in a century for Five Extremes Mountain.

Who would have thought there was a missed Liou Yuan?

"I knew it, how could Mr. Liou’s brother have poor aptitude?"

"Last year when he fought Liou Tao at Little Cyan Valley, I suspected he might be a Five-Star Star Acupoint. Look, sure enough, he reached Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer."

"Who could have thought at the time? The entrance examination at Five Extremes Mountain has never been wrong before."

Clearly, Liou Yuan’s entrance examination had issues.

There were also those who saw even more clearly, discerning the underlying scheme.

"Hey, perhaps it wasn’t a mistake, but deliberate. He was hiding his edge."

Disciples well-informed through rumors quickly caught on.

"Ah, almost forgot Xiangshan the Liou Family... It must’ve been Mr. Liou who helped Liou Yuan cover it up."

"Not Mr. Liou, but Master Fang Yu. It’s said that after the exposure, Master Fang Yu was punished by the Sect Leader and is now confined at Siguoya."

"Isn’t that the same as Mr. Liou? Who doesn’t know about Mr. Fang’s relationship with Mr. Liou?"

...

Liou Yuan’s name was widely spread throughout the Outer Sect of Five Extremes Mountain.

A suspected Five Elements Star Acupoints genius reaching Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer within a year of joining naturally attracted attention.

Now, as Liou Yuan ascended Fifth Peak, even veteran Outer Sect disciples smiled in acknowledgment upon seeing him.

This made Liou Yuan somewhat unaccustomed.

As for the disciples at Xiaopei Mountain, they ended up being the most unfazed among the Outer Sect at Five Extremes Mountain.

"The day Qiu Ming unreasonably attempted to seize Senior Brother Liou Yuan’s hut, I knew from their initial confrontation that Senior Brother Liou Yuan was no ordinary figure," said He Rui earnestly, the chubby disciple whose straw hut Qiu Ming had claimed.

"Ha, to tell you the truth, last year I saw Senior Brother Liou Yuan for the first time in Broken Dust Valley and felt certain he was a Five-Star Star Acupoint," laughed a wiry disciple from Xiaopei Mountain.

"Back then, I saw Senior Brother Liou Yuan in Yanhe City and knew at first glance he was no ordinary being."

Xie Miaobo had already given up comparing himself to Liou Yuan in cultivation, joining this group of discussing disciples.

Qiu Ming, infuriated, cursed, "You bunch of hindsight talkers, you truly have no shame."

...